Re: firmware status for eagle-usb-*

[Loïc Minier <lool+debian@via.ecp.fr>]

Josh Triplett <josh.trip@verizon.net> - Mon, Oct 18, 2004:

> I don't believe you can.  In order to distribute software under the GPL,
> we must provide the "preferred form for modification" of that software,
> which is the source.  From your description, it sounds like such source
> exists but is not being distributed.  This means that we do not have the
> preferred form for modification available, so we cannot make it
> available to others, which means we can't satisfy our obligations under
> the GPL, and therefore we cannot distribute the software at all.

 <silly>What makes you think there's a program in
 firmware-xyz.bin?</silly>

 I think you should re-read my mail, I'm talking about two different
 programs: a linux driver, with some utilities, with some data you're
 usually interested to send (for example a logo to display on a LCD) but
 that only affect a non-Debian system; *AND* a firmware program, that
 might or might not be a program (what if it is a configuration file?).

 Now, we both know the firmware is certainly a program too, but it is
 not the same program: for a Debian system running the drivers, this is
 mere data.

 I know this is an ambiguous position, and I'm sorry I have to take it,
 but think for a minute the modem would be running on a ROM and not a
 RAM, or on a Flash!  We wouldn't have to send that binary blob that we
 don't need to worry about when it's already there.

   Regards,

-- 
Loïc Minier <lool@via.ecp.fr>